The Truly Forgotten Queen of England | Anne Neville | The Wars of the Roses | The Invisible Queen

Anne Neville was only 28 years old when she died, and yet she had been married twice, become Princess of Wales and Queen of England, and played a critical part in the Wars of the Roses. But despite this, there is very little known about Anne, and whether she is a victim or a manipulator has depended very much on who is telling her story. Anne was born into a noble family with big ambitions, despite being amongst 200 other relations who could claim royal descent at the time of her birth. She came into the world on the 11th of June 1456, the second of two daughters born to Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and his wife, Anne Beecham, Countess of Warwick. Her family were part of the upper nobility, and right from the day she was born, Anne was assured of her family's wealth and lineage being the framework for the course her life would take. Through birth and marriage, the Nevilles were relations to the king, and therefore the throne. With no sons born to her parents, Anne and her elder sister Isabel were the sole co-heiresses to their parents' fortune. While nothing was noted by her parents anywhere on this issue, the lack of a son must have been disappointing to them, no matter how loved and wanted their daughters were. Sons were able to carry on the family legacy, name and inheritance. Daughters who inherited everything were absorbed into a future husband's name and fortune and would bring an end to the family line. But Anne Beecham, for unknown reasons, seems to have struggled with fertility, and she didn't have Anne's elder sister Isabel until she was 25 years old, and she was nearly 30 when she gave birth to Anne. It may have been something genetic, considering Anne's difficulty in producing children during her married life, resulting in only one son who died young. Her upbringing would have been luxurious and full of comforts. By the early 1460s, thanks to successive inheritances and forfeited properties, Anne's father Richard was the wealthiest nobleman in England, as well as becoming captain of Calais, chief steward for the northern estates of the Duchy of Lancaster, chief forester of the north, and constable and steward to many castles. At that time, the Neville family were in with the Lancastrian royal dynasty currently holding the throne, which at that time culminated in Henry VI. Although Anne was born at Warwick Castle, as both of her parents went to live in Calais when Richard Neville became captain of Calais, it's highly likely Anne was brought up there, at least until she was about four years old. This also suggests that while English was her mother tongue, she would also probably have learned to speak French as a second language at a young age, both useful and seen as an accomplishment for a noble lady. The Wars of the Roses began in 1455, before Anne was even born. Henry VI had fallen into a stupor from an unknown illness or condition, rendering him unconscious but unable to communicate in any way or run the country. Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, had taken control of the country by becoming Protector of England, despite the protests of Henry's Queen, Margaret of Anjou. When Henry came round from his mysterious condition, York's decisions were undone and he rebelled against the king, stating he was actually just trying to be rid of nobles around the king who were out for themselves, including his arch-enemy Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. Anne's father Richard became an ally to York, and after the Duke of York was victorious at the Battle of St Albans, he only became more important within the royal circle at court. Richard Neville's position as captain of Calais also gave him control of the largest standing army in England. By 1458, when Anne was still a toddler, her father had established relations with Charles VII, King of France, and Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, which would later serve him well. When he was summoned along with York and his own father, the Earl of Salisbury, to attend an inquiry in London, Richard Neville instead went towards Ludlow Castle with York and Salisbury. But before he arrived, the Yorkist forces were ambushed by the Lancastrian forces, but it was ultimately a Yorkist victory. By June 1460, with much travelling between England, Calais and Ireland, Warwick joined his comrades in England and captured Henry VI, with York claiming the throne for himself. When he was killed before being able to take the crown of England, it was his eldest living son who was successful in this regard, becoming Edward IV in 1461. Anne would have been raised, like her elder sister, within the household of her mother. Once back in England, Anne, and by proxy her mother and sister, would have spent much of their time divided between the family estates of Warwick Castle and Middleham Castle in the north. However, it would have not merely been Isabel and Anne, but her father's wards as well. These were Francis, Lord Lovell, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who was the younger brother of the new King Edward. All of them would have been taught to at least read and write in English, possibly also Latin, how to ride a horse, and would have attended religious services together. No doubt Anne and Richard would have spent time together, not knowing that one day they would be husband and wife. We do know a little of what Anne looked like. We know she had blonde hair, and that she was described by the family chronicler John Rose as being beauteous and slender when she was a young teenager. While flattery was in constant use when describing noble and royal women at this time, there is no reason to doubt it either, as less-than-desirable looks were also commented on when they existed. Unusually for Isabel and Anne, there is also no evidence that they were placed into another noble household for part of their upbringing. This was a commonplace occurrence, placing noble children into the household of an aunt or uncle, or the king or queen if high enough nobility. It promoted family ties between otherwise bickering relatives, especially when many travelled abroad or long-distance across the country, and could provide a network of friends, future spouses and connections. This is probably because, at the time the two girls were old enough for this practice, there was no queen's household until 1464. By then, Edward IV had married Elizabeth Woodville for his queen, a woman who Warwick disliked. This was partially due to the fact Warwick had tried to arrange a marriage for Edward to a French princess, only to find out he was married to Elizabeth already, and she was considered, by 15th century standards, a commoner. Therefore, it's not likely Warwick would have wanted to place his daughters into Elizabeth's household. However, their father was still a steward in the king's household, and as such they are shown to be present at court events from a young age, and from when she was nine years old in 1465. Their behaviour was always described as impeccable, and their clothes fit for their rank and beautiful, but we know little else. Often it appears they came with Warwick's ward, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, so it definitely shows they spent a lot of time together. But not long after this, family politics became very tricky. In 1469, Anne's elder sister Isabel married George, Duke of Clarence, who was Edward IV's other brother. This was against the king's wishes. Concerned by the growing alliance between Warwick and George, Edward had tried to block the marriage, knowing it would create a possible situation where George and Warwick could take him off the throne, and also meaning he couldn't offer George's hand for a foreign alliance. But George defied his brother by travelling to Calais with his bride-to-be, and the marriage took place there instead. This was bad enough, but the following year in 1470, Warwick became so disillusioned with Edward IV's rule that he switched sides again. He travelled to France to swear allegiance to Margaret of Anjou and her cause for Henry VI and their son, with hopes this would also put his family back in a powerful position. Edward IV had attained at Richard Neville, leaving Warwick with little choice but to create alliances elsewhere. As part of the deal, he arranged a marriage between Anne and Margaret's son, Prince Edward of Westminster. This marriage would allow both the Earl of Warwick and Margaret of Anjou to distrust each other slightly less. A grandchild would help Margaret, and if he helped put Henry VI back on the throne, Warwick could be assured of his estates and goods being returned to him. So on the 25th of July at Anjou, Anne Neville and Prince Edward were betrothed. A dispensation was sent shortly afterwards for their close family ties in the form of John of Gaunt as a great-great-grandfather, and they married around the 13th of December 1470 at Bayeux, when Anne was around 14 years old. Back in England, Warwick had succeeded in placing Henry VI back on the throne, although Edward IV had managed to flee to Burgundy. By April 1471, Anne and her new husband Edward of Westminster, her mother Countess Anne, and Margaret of Anjou, arrived back on England's shores. Anne Neville was now not merely a wealthy heiress waiting to become a countess, but Princess of Wales, destined to become a future Queen of England. Sadly, things would not work out well for her first marriage. Edward IV had already returned a month earlier in March, and by April, things were going against the Lancastrians. By May, Margaret of Anjou found her army pushed back by Edward's Yorkist forces, and this would result in the Battle of Tewkesbury on the 4th of May. We know that Prince Edward was present, as he was actually involved in the fighting, despite this being one of the most disastrous decisions made on the Lancastrian side. Sadly, not only did Margaret of Anjou's army fall, but Edward of Westminster also died in the fighting at just 17 years old. Henry VI was taken prisoner, and Edward IV was once again victorious in taking the throne of England. Anne was likely to have been present as well, and so would have witnessed the death of her young husband. The news of her father's death at the Battle of Barnet on the 14th of April must also have by now reached her, and while there is no record of Anne's reaction, it can be imagined. She had lost her father, her husband, and her life was now in the hands of her family's enemies. She was now no longer a princess, but a widow on the losing side, the daughter and wife of traitors, and was taken prisoner after the battle. However, her saviour was about to come in the form of George, Duke of Clarence. He had been annoyed at Warwick dropping the fight for him to wear England's crown, and so had repaired the relationship with his brother Edward secretly. Anne was brought before the King, who pardoned her, and then she and her mother were placed under George's protection. Warwick's estates and possessions were divided between George and his younger brother Richard, who kept the lands in the north. George was determined, according to the Crowland Chronicle, to conceal Anne as a kitchen maid and prevent her remarriage in order to keep the estates. While George likely did want to keep the entire Warwick estates, it's hardly likely he disguised a noblewoman as a maid. However, an argument then ensued between the two brothers as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, wished to marry Anne. According to the Burgundian Chronicle of Warring, Richard Neville had actually thought about a marriage between his ward and his daughter Anne in 1464, but had never gone through with it. There is no hard evidence for this, but it wouldn't have been an out-of-place thing to happen with a nobleman's daughter and ward. Whatever the case, Gloucester's determination to marry the younger Neville daughter now likely also came from a place of wanting to maintain her half of the inheritance. Again, through all of this, there are no sources giving us an idea of what Anne's feelings were. When she was placed into the protection of her brother-in-law George and her sister Isabel, it must have been both a relief and difficult, as George had betrayed her father. Equally, when she was probably reacquainted with Richard around Christmas of 1471, how did she feel about him? Did Anne have fond memories of the boy she had played with as a child, or had the subsequent years of war blackened these memories? Sadly, Anne's feelings were not recorded because they were not important in the medieval world of transaction-like marriage, where a marriage was a contract of lineage and lands more than romance, and Anne would have understood this for both of her marriages. There is a story that she allowed Richard to come and whisk her away to Sanctuary at St. Martins-le-Grand in London, a medieval practice of abducting a bride and then marrying her. Either way, Clarence and Gloucester finally came to an agreement in March 1472 after Richard agreed to renounce his claim to many of the Warwick estates and holdings, keeping only those in the north. However, just a few years later in 1474, Parliament agreed that the two sisters would inherit their father's estates and goods equally, setting aside the claim of both their mother Anne Beecham and their cousin George Neville. It's not known exactly when Richard and Anne married, but it was sometime between 1472 and 1474, but most sources agree it was likely sooner in 1472. But what this does show is that Anne was now no passive observer of events happening to her. Widows were legally free of male control, and although she was under the protection of Clarence and her sister, they could not force Anne to do anything. Anne chose not to join a nunnery, not to stay with Isabelle's household, but instead to remarry and have a chance at claiming her rightful inheritance. And she made these decisions at just 15 years old. If she wanted to reclaim the wealth and lifestyle to which she was accustomed, Anne's choice of new husband was a good one, as only Gloucester would have been able to one-up his brother. While some modern historians have sought to make this a love match, we cannot possibly know if it really was or not, only that for Anne, it was a sensible marriage. A dispensation was required, however. Anne and Richard were already first cousins, but now they were also related through Anne's first marriage to Edward of Westminster, who was also Richard's cousin, Richard being also related to John of Gaunt as a great-grandson, and as brother-in-law and sister-in-law due to George and Isabelle being married. In medieval lore, this essentially made them brother and sister, even though we would not see it this way today as they were not blood-related as siblings. On the 22nd of April 1472, a dispensation applied for by Richard was approved, however, this dispensation only covered the third and fourth degrees of consanguinity, such as their connection to John of Gaunt, when as siblings-in-law and first cousins, they needed one that covered the second and first degrees. In other words, this dispensation was technically not valid when they were married. Amazingly, Richard and Anne decided to marry only on this first dispensation, when they must have been waiting for a second one that would take more petitioning and lobbying, something which flouted medieval canon lore. Whatever the case, Anne was unknowingly once again set to become Queen of England, although now merely the Duchess of Gloucester, events would change dramatically. Around 1473, Anne's mother, the Dowager Countess of Warwick, was allowed to leave her guarded sanctuary in Bewley Abbey and came to join her daughter's household at Midlam Castle, where the young couple had based themselves. Some time between 1473 and 1476, Anne and Richard had their first, and what would prove to be their only, child, a son named Edward of Midlam. Little is known about this event, but perhaps part of the reason for Anne's mother joining her at Midlam could have been her presence during her daughter's childbirth. In December 1476, Anne's sister, Isabel, died. Her inheritance was passed to George, who himself was executed by Edward IV in 1478, leaving Anne as the main beneficiary. As her husband, Richard was now able to use the estates and titles Anne gained, making them a powerful and wealthy family in their own right. But more was to come. On the 9th of April 1483, Edward IV died suddenly, leaving behind his son as heir and now Edward V of England. The king named Richard as protector and regent for his eldest son, but his widow, Elizabeth Woodville, understood that her family would lose their power and wealth if they didn't have control of Edward V. Richard and the Woodvilles had never got on well together. Hearing of his brother's death from a friend rather than the Queen, understanding what was planned, Richard set out for London and took his nephew into his care. He then placed Edward V and his younger brother Richard of Shrewsbury into the Tower of London to await Edward's coronation. The coronation never came, and a few weeks later Richard reported he apparently had proof that Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid, and as a result, the boys, along with their sisters, were illegitimate. This was accepted reluctantly by a nobility with little choice but to agree, and Richard was declared as Richard III of England on the 26th of June 1483. The decision would later be ratified in Parliament in 1484 in Titulus Regius. He was now king, and Anne, as his wife, was Queen Consort of England. On the 6th of July, both Richard and Anne shared a lavish coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Ironically, the Queen's train was carried by Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond, whose son Henry Tudor would later kill Richard and take the crown for himself as Henry VII. Not long after the coronation, during the couple's royal progress across England, their son Edward was created Prince of Wales on the 8th of September 1483. But this is the point at which we might expect to hear more about Anne, as a patron, benefactor, at least in records of courtly life. But it appears Anne had little control over her own affairs. The dower lands normally given to queens were never presented to her, and her income was managed by officers of the king. She occasionally pops up in chancery records for grants, but rarely. Her most well-known patronage is possibly that of portions of her inheritance going to Queen's College Cambridge. We also know Anne got on well with her mother-in-law Cecily Neville, who was also her aunt, and the two discussed religious matters together. But things soon unravelled. In April of 1484, Anne and Richard's son, Edward of Midlam, died suddenly as his parents were on their way to visit him from Nottingham. The reasons behind his death are uncertain, but it's suggested Edward fell ill, not uncommon in the medieval period. According to the Crowland Chronicle, both Richard and Anne were mad with grief and were heartbroken at the death of their son. It's hardly surprising. Not only was there the natural pain of losing a much-loved son, but in all the years of marriage the royal couple seemed to have struggled to produce any other living children. They had not only lost their son, but their only heir. Rumours abounded that Richard was planning on setting aside Anne and marrying again to secure an heir, something that certainly would have been possible in light of their lack of correct dispensation, but he didn't. However, at Christmas of that year, a comparison was apparently drawn between Queen Anne and Elizabeth of York, Richard's niece, of their looks and how they were dressed. The rumours grew that Richard actually wanted to marry his niece, although there is nothing concrete to back this up. The following year, in 1485, Anne herself grew ill. It's not known exactly what this illness may have been, but it's thought to have possibly been tuberculosis. On the 16th of March 1485, at just 28 years old, Anne died. She was buried at Westminster Abbey, but no monument to her would be made until the 1960s. The rumour mill was in such overdrive that after his wife's death, Richard had to publicly send his niece Elizabeth of York away from court and publicly declare he had no intention of marrying her. Some even suggested he had poisoned Anne, but as she had been ill for some time, again it would seem she probably died of natural causes. There is no reason to doubt, whether the marriage was a love match or not, that Richard felt genuine grief at the loss of his wife. He would die himself on the 22nd of August 1485, just a few months later, at the Battle of Bosworth. Anne's life is one typical of a medieval noblewoman. A life told through the deeds, decisions and whims of the men around her. We know nothing of her personal feelings or thoughts, or even of her personality. But we get flashes, tiny hints at who she might have been. Her decision at 15 to remarry to Richard Duke of Gloucester, her preparedness to marry Prince Edward of Westminster and her reported good manners and conduct, suggest she understood what was expected of her as a noblewoman from a proud family who wanted to continue their legacy. Her decision to leave the protection of George and Isabel and marry a man who was, legally at the time, too close to be safely married to, suggests a girl who knew her own mind and had some spark of independence in her. Even as Queen of England, unlike other consorts, we get very little information about her through patronage. We know she was considered pious like many of her time, and this is partially corroborated by her finding common ground on the subject of religion, with her aunt and mother-in-law Cecily Neville. We don't even really know what Anne was like as a mother, but considering her publicly known grief after Edward of Midlam's death, we can assume she loved him deeply. Ultimately, Anne remains an enigma, told through the lens of those around her, despite being a pivotal part of the Wars of the Roses, through her two marriages and her inheritance. She left little legacy, but did cram a huge amount of adventure into her 28 years – wars, two marriages, becoming a duchess, a princess and a queen, wealth, social disdain and social popularity and becoming a mother. While Anne is an enigma, perhaps she is also a reminder of the many medieval women who were integral and important people to those around them, who also lived their lives to the fullest, but due to events outside their control, often remain forgotten. If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss any new documentaries.